Dirt is magnetic
The conversation went like this:
Maria: "Is dirt magnetic".
Me: "Well only if it's iron dirt".
Maria: "No I mean stones and stuff".
Me: "If the stones are magnetite I suppose"
Maria: "What does that mean?"
Me: "It means they are magnetic".
Maria: "What about ordinary dirt like on the floor of the Norwegian classroom"
Me: "I don't think so"
Maria: "Well it stuck to my computer"
Me: " So is your computer magnetic?"
Maria: "Yes"
Me: "Oh"
So Maria borrowed a magnet and went to the Norwegian classroom and brought back stones sticking to a magnet. On closer observation the stones looked just like the photo of magnetite we found on the web although some white stones only had flecks of grey. There's probably not enough in the classroom to mine commercially but it was an interesting observation and the sort of thing that often sparks off an EE. Not sure that this would be such a good EE topic though.
Research Question: Is dirt magnetic?
Essay: Yes.